


Gently Does It

by Sir_Bedevere



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Fluff, Gentleness, Holding Hands, Hugs, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Bedevere/pseuds/Sir_Bedevere
Summary: Now he was just tired, like all of the adrenaline had drained out of him, and he wanted – he wanted – well, he wanted to spend some time with Cap, actually. Just the two of them. Slowly. They’d agreed to move slowly, but he couldn’t help wondering if Cap was in there wanting to see him too.It's been a tough few days with a wedding gone awry and everyone on edge, and Pat just wants to spend some time with Cap.
Relationships: Pat Butcher/The Captain (Ghosts TV 2019)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 62





	Gently Does It

It had been a tough week. Even Pat was willing to admit that. 

On Saturday, Alison and Mike had hosted a wedding that had – to make an understatement – gone completely to shit. It wasn’t their fault, of course. The first warning sign was when Humphrey announced to Alison early on the Saturday morning that he’d watched a bloke who definitely wasn’t the groom sneaking into the bride’s room on Friday night. 

“And he wasn’t in there having a cup of tea, if you know what I mean,” Humphrey said. 

“Crap,” Alison sighed. “Who was it?”

“Don’t know. Could pick him out of a line up though.”

That led to a bit of a carnival where Pat was drafted in to carry Humphrey around as they followed Alison door to door, rooting out all the blokes who had stayed over. Obviously, all the other ghosts followed along, knowing a good bit of entertainment when they saw it. Pat wasn’t sure how Alison could hear herself think over the chattering, and when he tried to shush them, it didn’t really help. Julian was too excited about the whole thing and he was winding up the others. Pat looked about for Cap, the one person who could usually shut Julian up, but he was hanging back. He seemed like he was miles away, truth be told. 

“That’s the one,” Humphrey said eventually, after they had visited seven different rooms. “Know him anywhere.”

Seeing as the one Humphrey had picked out was the best man, Pat understood why Alison swore under her breath. As signs went, it was quite a big one that things were going to go wrong. 

“Naughty boy,” Julian crowed, as Alison began to massage her temples. 

“What do I do?” she groaned. 

“Fetch Michael for a council of war,” the Captain piped up, finally shaking himself out of whatever funk he was in. “Robin, stay here with this degenerate and see what he’s up to. Katherine, go and keep an eye on the bride.”

“Yeah, do that,” Alison muttered. “Where’s Mike?”

“Outsides, last when I saw him,” Mary said. “The man with the magic picture box was there.”

Of course, they all followed along, except for Robin who slipped, cackling, through the door, and Kitty who skipped off gladly to watch the bride. It was kind of Cap to give her that job, when Fanny probably would been better at it. At that thought, Pat reached out and stopped Cap marching away with a hand on his arm. He was still holding Humphrey, but he didn’t really care. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he and Cap had been spending time together. 

“You alright?” Pat asked. “You’re quiet.”

The Captain’s shoulders were up around his ears, a sure sign he wasn’t alright at all, and he was clenching his jaw. But he didn’t shake Pat’s hand off, and his eyes only briefly flickered over Humphrey before he nodded. 

“Yes. Just rather keen to get this mess sorted out.”

Pat nodded, although he didn’t believe him. But he wouldn’t make a fuss here. It wasn’t fair on Cap, or Humphrey. 

“He doesn’t sound alright,” Humphrey observed under his breath. 

“Think you’re right there, mate.”

As it turned out, Alison and Mike didn’t need to decide whether to tell, because the screaming started ten minutes later, and another minute after that Robin and Kitty burst into the garden where they were huddled. 

“Oh Alison!” Kitty cried, her eyes wide. “The man – he left some undergarments in Chloe’s bedroom. And the maid of honour found them and –”

The maid of honour was the best man’s wife. Pat cringed as the others erupted into conversation. It definitely wasn’t his favourite subject, that sort of thing. He passed Humphrey to Mary, and began to worry at his neckerchief. The noise from inside the house was big, bigger than the one outside. And it was angry too. And God, there was going to be so much pain. He knew that better than most. He could do without it actually, and before he could change his mind, he slipped away. He’d go out to the lake. He couldn’t bear to stick around and hear the details. 

He was still out there, hours later, when Cap came to find him. Pat didn’t mind that he hadn’t come sooner. There was probably a lot that Cap could have done up at the house to help Alison, and through the dull weight pressing down on his chest, Pat felt a flicker of pride. Even dead, Cap could and would have been helping up there. He’d come so far, and Pat knew how much Alison valued Cap’s cool head and sage advice, even if she didn’t always appreciate it at the time. Cap had really taken the whole wedding business to heart. 

“Sorry for running away,” Pat said, when all Cap did was clear his throat. “Leaving you to deal with the chaos.”

“No need for apologies, I’m sure,” Cap said, and sank to the ground with a groan. “Hardly the sort of scene it is fair for you of all people to witness.”

Pat chuckled, although his heart wasn’t really in it. He was touched that Cap just understood, without having to tell him why. 

It was a breezy day, and the water of the lake was lapping at the banks. In the woods, birds were still singing, and then Cap reached out carefully and took Pat’s hand in his. Maybe it could all have been worse. 

“What happened then?” Pat asked, tracing his fingertip over Cap’s thumbnail. Little touches between them, slowly adding up. 

“The wedding is cancelled, of course,” Cap said, his voice strained. Probably from all the effort it took to keep Julian in check. “All the guests are packing and going home. Joseph took off already with one of his other friends. He’s – well, I suppose he’s heartbroken.”

Pat glanced up. He thought there had been a catch in Cap’s voice, but his face was placid, as though he was reciting from the phone book. 

“Poor sod,” Pat said instead, watching the ebb and flow of the water.

“Indeed.”

They stayed out, hand in hand, until it was almost dark. When they finally got back to the house, everyone was gone, and Mike and Alison were already in bed with a takeaway and the television, not to be disturbed. 

Cap walked Pat to his room and saw him in with a shy dip of his head. Pat kissed the back of his hand and watched as he paced down the corridor – off to do his rounds, probably. 

One step at a time. 

**

On the Sunday, Alison was in a foul mood. She’d been hoping for a really good review from the wedding party, and she wasn’t happy a bloke with a wandering eye had ruined everything. 

Pat couldn’t blame her; on Monday he woke up to the sound of Fanny’s scream and, for the first time in a long time, wondered what would happen if he just stayed in bed all day. It would definitely save having to referee everyone; Alison’s bad moods tended to rub off on Kitty and Thomas, and then it was just a domino effect from there as everyone got grumpy and uncooperative. If he just rolled over and went to sleep for two days, it would all be sorted by the time he got up. 

The only thing that got him up and out of bed was the thought that if he didn’t appear, Cap would have to deal with them all on his own. Every cross word, every argument – they just wound Cap up. Especially if it was Thomas or Julian behaving badly. No, it was better if Pat was the one to deal with those two. Cap could handle Fanny and the others. They were a team, and these days Pat was even less likely to abandon his teammate. 

So he dragged himself off the bed and ventured out. He only shared this corridor with Robin so it was hard to tell if the quiet was a sign of better moods all round, or if he was just blessedly unable to hear anything all the way up here. He crossed his fingers and headed downstairs. 

Right into the middle of the first argument of the day. 

“You will not raise your voice at me, sir!” Thomas snapped, his face red. Of course, it was Julian he was squaring up with. 

“I’ll do whatever I want, _sir_ ,” Julian sneered. “It’s too bloody early for your so called poetry –”

“So called? _So called_? I’ll have you know-”

“Julian, that’s enough!” Cap said, getting in between them. “Cool off, man. That’s an order!”

“An order? What –”

Cap’s hand was tight around his swagger stick, his knuckles white. He was crowding Julian back, but Julian would always hold his ground, especially when he was like this. Pat didn’t think. He stepped forwards, and put a hand on Cap’s shoulder. 

“Tag team,” he muttered, squeezing gently. “Get Thomas out of here.”

Cap turned wild eyes on him, white at the edges. Fight or flight, and he’d chosen fight. He always would pick that one, if it came down to the wire. A soldier through and through. Even when it wasn’t necessarily the best choice. 

“Go on,” Pat said. 

Slowly, Cap nodded. He threw one more look at Julian, then turned on his heel. 

“Come along, Thorne,” he said, voice clipped. 

When they were gone, Pat turned weary eyes on Julian. He was still stood with his back against the wall, straightening his tie. Pat briefly fantasised about hitting him himself, then swallowed.

“Come on, mate. No arguments before midday, yeah?” 

“Tell him that,” Julian spat, but the fight was draining from him. It always did, once Cap was gone. Like lions fighting it out for top spot in the pride. Pat had always found it funny that neither Julian or Cap knew that Robin was the real top dog. Probably best they never found out. 

“Just stay out of Thomas’ way, alright? And I’ll tell him to stay out of yours.”

Julian grumbled under his breath, but did go off in the opposite direction to Cap and Thomas. Pat wasn’t going to babysit him. It would have to do. 

**

That evening, Pat found himself standing outside of Cap’s bedroom door. Most of the day had been spent on edge, waiting for an argument to blow up, and he’d had to deal with some minor squabbles, but for the most part the day had not been as bad as he was expecting. 

Now he was just tired, like all of the adrenaline had drained out of him, and he wanted – he wanted – well, he wanted to spend some time with Cap, actually. Just the two of them. Slowly. They’d agreed to move slowly, but he couldn’t help wondering if Cap was in there wanting to see him too. It had been a hard few days. Pat hoped he wasn’t selfish in hoping that Cap would want him as much as he wanted him. 

He just didn’t want to be alone. 

Before his courage left him, he cleared his throat. 

“Knock, knock. Cap?”

A moment of silence. 

“Come in.”

The Captain was standing by the window, arms behind his back. It was dark outside, but from the way he was intently staring, you’d have thought there was something really worth looking at out there. Pat hoped he wasn’t just avoiding looking him in the eye.

“You alright, Cap?”

“Mmm?” He turned his head slightly. “Oh yes. Very well. Er – are you?”

“Not really. Tough few days, huh?” 

“Well, yes. I suppose so. What with the – wedding and all.”

“And the others. Grumpy faces all round.”

Pat tried to keep his voice light. He didn’t want it to sound like he was complaining, especially if Cap was as tired as he was. He longed to reach out and touch him. To take his hand, or give him a hug or something. Anything. But he’d promised Cap they’d go at whatever pace he wanted, and if he didn’t want to do anything then he wouldn’t force him. 

“Can I sit down?” he asked instead. 

“Of course. Er. Wherever you’d like.”

Cap turned properly then, his eyes shy, as he watched Pat take a perch on the bed. His eyes followed Pat’s hands as they smoothed down the dusty blankets, and one of his eyes twitched. Then, like a nervous animal, he came slowly to Pat’s side and sat next to him. On the bed. 

Big step, that. Pat wouldn’t make a fuss. 

He left his hand at his side, and grinned when Cap reached out to take it. Course fingers gripped his, tightly, fingertips tracing over his nails. He turned his hand over and let Cap thread their fingers together, his shorter ones fitting perfectly between Cap’s. It was warm, or at least it felt like the memory of warm, and he squeezed tightly. Cap drew in a sharp breath and when Pat glanced up at him, he was blinking hard. 

“Hey. It’s okay, Cap.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t-”

“You can,” Pat said, holding tightly to his hand. _God_ , he didn’t want him to let go. “Whatever it is, you can.”

He felt a heat in his chest, snaking up from their joined hands, and he wasn’t going to let it go. Not this time. 

“Patrick, I –”

Cap didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he leaned in and rested his head on Pat’s shoulder, snaked his arm around Pat’s back and pulled him closer to his side. The heat in Pat’s chest was overwhelming, flooding him and filling him up, and he had to press his eyes tightly closed to stop the warmth from leaking out of him. 

He brought his own spare hand up, awkward in the space but it didn’t matter – _it didn’t matter_ – and he brushed careful fingertips through the soft hair at Cap’s temple.

Cap made a sound deep in his throat, a sound that rumbled against Pat’s shoulder. 

“Is this alright?” Pat murmured. 

“Yes,” Cap sighed. “Quite alright.”


End file.
